My Essay on CNN Opinion: “Why I’ll Never Stop Speaking Out For Women”

You might remember my Twitter trolls post back in June, in which I regaled you with the tale of what happened when I pushed back on a politician’s sexism and vile words. Trust me, it was NOT my happiest hour. But over the next month or so, I put fingers to keyboard, penning a piece that expressed all the anger, frustration and sadness that had been brewing in my soul for far too long. I’m so proud that the piece became my first CNN Opinion essay, and it went live just a couple weeks ago!

The essay is called “Why I’ll Never Stop Speaking Out For Women” and calls out the behavior for exactly what it is — bullying and a sad indication of what is becoming acceptable. Of course, I was a bit anxious to send it out into the world, but in the end, I was way more afraid of sitting by and doing absolutely nothing. Seeing all the horrible tweets coming my way empowered me, I suppose, which is one reaction I never could have predicted.

Here’s an excerpt of the essay, which is, honestly, quite possibly my favorite piece I’ve written in 2017 so far…

It takes more than guts to be a woman in 2017…

…Women aren’t safe anymore. Not in real life and not in cyberspace. Because what happened to me? It was assault. Sure, it may not have been the physical kind, but make no mistake about it, as I read through those cruel words, it felt like I was being ripped apart…

…There will be those people who say that I shouldn’t say anything, that I’ll never be able to change people’s minds. They’ll caution me not to rock the boat or make too big a deal of this. And to those people, I say this: What if you had said that to Susan B. Anthony during women’s suffrage or to Rosa Parks during the civil rights movement? What if you had told them they shouldn’t be so outspoken? And what if they’d listened?

You can read the full essay here and I’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to email me anytime at mellow1422@aol.com and let’s chat! And of course, feel free to share my essay on Facebook, Twitter or even your local refrigerator. If you share on Twitter, be sure to tag me @melissablake so we can connect! I can’t wait to hear from you! Love you all… xoxo

So About What I Said is a daily blog that covers relationships, disabilities, lifestyle and pop culture. I love to laugh and have been known to overshare. I also have an unabashed obsession with pop music, polo shirts, and PEZ dispensers. Read more...